Shanghai stocks set for sixth day of declines amid yuan slide

SHANGHAI, July 20 (Reuters) - China stocks fell on Friday, with the Shanghai benchmark poised to decline for a sixth straight session, as market sentiment continued to be curbed by a sliding yuan.

** The CSI300 index fell 0.4 percent to 3,414.78 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1 percent to 2,769.20 points.

** China’s yuan plunged to its lowest in more than a year against the dollar on Friday after the central bank fixed a weak midpoint, but traders said major state banks sold dollars during the morning trading which slowed down the decline. ** China’s CSI300 financial sector sub-index slid 0.12 percent, the consumer staples sector lost 0.82 percent, the real estate index fell 1.59 percent and healthcare sub-index slipped 0.98 percent.

** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong fell 0.36 percent at 10,485.68, while the Hang Seng Index was down 0.54 percent at 27,858.23.

** Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.06 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei index was down 0.70 percent.

** The yuan was quoted at 6.7946 per U.S. dollar, 0.22 percent weaker than the previous close of 6.7796.

** The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Fujian Start Group Co Ltd, which climbed 10.06 percent, followed by Shandong Huapeng Glass Co Ltd , which gained 10.06 percent and Chongqing Gas Group Corp Ltd, which rose 9.94 percent.